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Scylla
Scylla was classified as a Class E planet, meaning that from the moment it was discovered it shared many traits with Earth. Similar size, having a diameter of roughly 15K kilometers, similar variations in regional climates, geographical outlays, and atmospheric conditions. Aside from being a bit larger than Earth, the biggest differences between the planets is the land/water ratios and that Scylla's orbit takes it through all three of Charybdis's local stellar leylines of Positive, Negative, and Arcane energies- which has an unpleasant side effect of causing fluctuating and unpredictable weather patterns, particularly around the mostly desert-like equatorial regions. That, along with Scylla's moons of Abraxas and Hatuibwari, have heavy and often trying effects on climatory and tidal patterns; they are often unstable and difficult to predict. Before the Federation colonized it, Scylla was a single-biome world consisting entirely of thick, swamp-like vegetation and muck all coated in slime; an endeavor of the Aboleth that once ruled the world. For two centuries the Federation fought to take it from the aberrant ancients, ultimately forcing the Aboleth into retreat under threat of extermination. Many of the secrets they had guarded were destroyed or buried in the deepest depths, but they abandoned it nonetheless. With them gone, it was easy for the Federation to begin terraforming efforts- the planet itself, most likely under direction of Scylla's Worldsoul, Jhaia, seemed to lend the mortals its aid, restoring it to its former glory in a only a few decades. It now has a clear land/water ration of about 40%/60%, with four large continental bodies (used to be nine, but several were connected to create super-continents), which are separated by three vast oceans. Despite the fact that Scylla has been subject to a number of surface strip-mining campaigns, rendering it a fairly mineral poor world unless you're willing to dig good and deep, the significance of the Federation's victory over the previous tenants made them turn it into a massive population center through the construction of multiple arcologies and two supermassive cities once known as the Eye-Gems of Charybdis: Telo-Haljr and Serisia. The splendor of these various constructions, the sheer size and complexity of the developments, they were unlike anything else in the entire galactic quadrant. This would be both a blessing and a curse during the Armageddon Wars. Scylla had remained loyal to the Federation, but the Charybdis system is fairly isolated; a population of over fifteen billion people was handy for filling the ranks, but murder to keep supplied. Such scenarios only got more difficult when the Wars brought forth horrors like the Goblinoid armies, the legions of the Hells, and the Byzuran hivemind. Even though Scylla had effectively been turned into a planet-sized fortress, the Loyalists were eventually cut off. The only thing that worked in their favor was the reluctance of their enemies to raze the planet from orbit, their greed and desire to loot the planet of its vast wealth outweighed the want for genocide. Relying on conventional warfare, many areas became meat grinders that would claim billions of lives and leave whole continents a shambles. When the survivors of the Armageddon Wars crawled from beneath the rubble, they found that rebuilding the old glories would be next to impossible. Much environmental devastation had been wrought both accidentally and intentionally. The planet's orbit through the Leylines has caused huge impacts on the local fauna, which have grown to vast populations. It's a much more dangerous world these days, and that makes the construction of new civilizations difficult. Exacerbating matters is the omnipresent issue of limited resources- many are forced to take the ruins of the Federation's wondrous constructions and melt them down to fuel new economies and build new infrastructure, instead of trying to rebuild them. The wealth of treasures from the lost renaissance are almost all gone now, and the few relics that still exist from those glory days have become properties of national interest which are heavily, jealously guarded by their new owners. Where once there were tens of thousands of city-like settlements, only hundreds now exist, clinging ferociously to life and struggling to tame the new frontier. Continental Bodies Ameros Eoranon Nieron Gerdelon Wyrmerract Oceans Lennus Ocean- Smallest body of water and the most turbulent, but connects to most continents' shores at some point. The Lennus is a freshwater ocean; how that works, nobody knows, they just accept it and try to avoid the freshwater sahuagin. Albadian Ocean- If the Lennus is the "inner" ocean, the Albadian is the "outer". Though larger and more time-consuming to cross, the Albadian is much calmer (and saltier) than the Lennus and therefore more popular to use for most naval purposes. Evercold Ocean- The Evercold exists primarily around the southern continents of Gerdelon and Eoranon, as well as around the south pole. The waters are, as one might gather from the name, bitterly cold but chock full of fatty fish, whales, and other creatures which like cold waters, and boasts some of the calmest seas on Scylla. Satellites Abraxas Hatuibwari Scyllan Space Stations Back to Worlds Back to Main Page